A Gift of Dhamma

Ajahn Chah

(A Discourse delivered to the assembly of Western
Monks, Novices and Lay-disciples at Bung Wai Forest
Monastery, Ubon, on 10th October, 1977. This Discourse
was offered to the parents of one of the monks on the
occasion of their visit from France.)

I am happy that you have taken this opportunity to come
and visit Wat Pah Pong, and to see your son who is a monk
here, however I'm sorry I have no gift to offer you. France
already has so many material things, but of Dhamma there's
very little. Having been there and seen for myself, there
isn't really any Dhamma there which could lead to peace and
tranquillity. There are only things which continually make
one's mind confused and troubled.

France is already materially prosperous, it has so many
things to offer which are sensually enticing -- sights,
sounds, smells, tastes and textures. However, people ignorant
of Dhamma only become confused by them. So today I will offer
you some Dhamma to take back to France as a gift from Wat Pah
Pong and Wat Pah Nanachat.

What is Dhamma? Dhamma is that which can cut through the
problems and difficulties of mankind, gradually reducing them
to nothing. That's what is called Dhamma and that's what
should be studied throughout our daily lives so that when
some mental impression arises in us, we'll be able to deal
with it and go beyond it.

Problems are common to us all whether living here in
Thailand or in other countries. If we don't know how to solve
them, we'll always be subject to suffering and distress. That
which solves problems is wisdom and to have wisdom we must
develop and train the mind.

The subject of practice isn't far away at all, it's right
here in our body and mind. Westerners and Thais are the same,
they both have a body and mind. A confused body and mind
means a confused person and a peaceful body and mind, a
peaceful person.

Actually, the mind, like rain water, is pure in its
natural state. If we were to drop green coloring into clear
rain water, however, it would turn green. If yellow coloring
it would turn yellow.

The mind reacts similarly. When a comfortable mental
impression "drops" into the mind, the mind is
comfortable. When the mental impression is uncomfortable, the
mind is uncomfortable. The mind becomes "cloudy"
just like the colored water.

When clear water contacts yellow, it turns yellow. When it
contacts green, it turns green. It will change color every
time. Actually, that water which is green or yellow is
naturally clean and clear. This is also the natural state of
the mind, clean and pure and unconfused. It becomes confused
only because it pursues mental impressions; it gets lost in
its moods!

Let me explain more clearly. Right now we are sitting in a
peaceful forest. Here, if there's no wind, a leaf remains
still. When a wind blows it flaps and flutters. The mind is
similar to that leaf. When it contacts a mental impression,
it, too, "flaps and flutters" according to the
nature of that mental impression. And the less we know of
Dhamma, the more the mind will continually pursue mental
impressions. Feeling happy, it succumbs to happiness. Feeling
suffering, it succumbs to suffering. It's constant confusion!

In the end people become neurotic. Why? Because they don't
know! They just follow their moods and don't know how to look
after their own minds. When the mind has no one to look after
it, it's like a child without a mother or father to take care
of him. An orphan has no refuge and, without a refuge, he's
very insecure.

Likewise, if the mind is not looked after, if there is no
training or maturation of character with right understanding,
it's really troublesome.

The method of training the mind which I will give you
today is Kammatthana. "Kamma"
means "action" and "thana" means
"base." In Buddhism it is the method of making the
mind peaceful and tranquil. It's for you to use in training
the mind and with the trained mind investigate the body.

Our being is composed of two parts: one is the body, the
other, the mind. There are only these two parts. What is
called "the body," is that which can be seen with
our physical eyes. "The mind," on the other hand,
has no physical aspect. The mind can only be seen with the
"internal eye" or the "eye of the mind."
These two things, body and mind, are in a constant state of
turmoil.

What is the mind? The mind isn't really and
"thing." Conventionally speaking, it's that which
feels or senses. That which senses, receives and experiences
all mental impressions is called "mind." Right at
this moment there is mind. As I am speaking to you, the mind
acknowledges what I am saying. Sounds enter through the ear
and you know what is being said. That which experiences this
is called "mind."

This mind doesn't have any self or substance. It doesn't
have any form. It just experiences mental activities, that's
all! If we teach this mind to have right view, this mind
won't have any problems. It will be at ease.

The mind is mind. Mental objects are mental objects.
Mental objects are not the mind, the mind is not mental
objects. In order to clearly understand our minds and the
mental objects in our minds, we say that the mind is that
which receives the mental objects which pop into it.

When these two things, mind and its object, come into
contact with each other, they give rise to feelings. Some are
good, some bad, some cold, some hot, all kinds! Without
wisdom to deal with these feelings, however, the mind will be
troubled.

Meditation is the way of developing the mind so that it
may be a base for the arising of wisdom. Here the breath is a
physical foundation. We call it Anapanasati
or "mindfulness of breathing." Here we make
breathing our mental object. We take this object of
meditation because it's the simplest and because it has been
the heart of meditation since ancient times.

When a good occasion arises to do sitting meditation, sit
cross-legged: right leg on top of the left leg, right hand on
top of the left hand. Keep your back straight and erect. Say
to yourself, "Now I will let go of all my burdens and
concerns." You don't want anything that will cause you
worry. Let go of all concerns for the time being.

Now fix your attention on the breath. Then breathe in and
breathe out. In developing awareness of breathing, don't
intentionally make the breath long or short. Neither make it
strong or weak. Just let it flow normally and naturally.
Mindfulness and self-awareness, arising from the mind, will
know the in-breath and the out-breath.

Be at ease. Don't think about anything. No need to think
of this or that. The only thing you have to do is fix your
attention on the breathing in and breathing out. You have
nothing else to do but that! Keep your mindfulness fixed on
the in-and out-breaths as they occur. Be aware of the
beginning, middle and end of each breath. On inhalation, the
beginning of the breath is at the nose tip, the middle at the
heart, and the end in the abdomen. On exhalation, it's just
the reverse: the beginning of the breath is in the abdomen,
the middle at the heart, and the end at the nose tip. Develop
the awareness of the breath: 1, at the nose tip; 2, at the
heart; 3, in the abdomen. Then in reverse: 1, in the abdomen;
2, at the heart; and 3, at the nose tip.

Focusing the attention on these three points will relieve
all worries. Just don't think of anything else! Keep your
attention on the breath. Perhaps other thoughts will enter
the mind. It will take up other themes and distract you.
Don't be concerned. Just take up the breathing again as your
object of attention. The mind may get caught up in judging
and investigating your moods, but continue to practice, being
constantly aware of the beginning, middle and the end of each
breath.

Eventually, the mind will be aware of the breath at these
three points all the time. When you do this practice for some
time, the mind and body will get accustomed to the work.
Fatigue will disappear. The body will feel lighter and the
breath will become more and more refined. Mindfulness and
self-awareness will protect the mind and watch over it.

We practice like this until the mind is peaceful and calm,
until it is one.One means that the mind will
be completely absorbed in the breathing, that it doesn't
separate from the breath. The mind will be unconfused and at
ease. It will know the beginning, middle and end of the
breath and remain steadily fixed on it.

Then when the mind is peaceful, we fix our attention on
the in-breath and out-breath at the nose tip only. We don't
have to follow it up and down to the abdomen and back. Just
concentrate on the tip of the nose where the breath comes in
and goes out.

This is called "calming the mind," making it
relaxed and peaceful. When tranquillity arises, the mind stops;
it stops with its single object, the breath. This is
what's known as making the mind peaceful so that wisdom may
arise.

This is the beginning, the foundation of our practice. You
should try to practice this every single day, wherever you
may be. Whether at home, in a car, lying or sitting down, you
should be mindfully aware and watch over the mind constantly.

This is called mental training which should be practiced
in all the four postures. Not just sitting, but standing,
walking and lying as well. The point is that we should know
what the state of the mind is at each moment, and, to be able
to do this, we must be constantly mindful and aware. Is the
mind happy or suffering? Is it confused? Is it peaceful?
Getting to know the mind in this manner allows it to become
tranquil, and when it does become tranquil, wisdom will
arise.

With the tranquil mind investigate the meditation subject
which is the body, from the top of the head to the soles of
the feet, then back to the head. Do this over and over again.
Look at and see the hair of the head, hair of the body, the
nails, teeth and skin. In this meditation we will see that
this whole body is composed of four "elements': earth,
water, fire and wind.

The hard and solid parts of our body make up the earth
element; the liquid and flowing parts, the water element.
Winds that pass up and down our body make up the wind
element, and the heat in our body, the fire element.

Taken together, they compose what we call a "human
being." However, when the body is broken down into its
component parts, only these four elements remain. The Buddha
taught that there is no "being" per se, no
human, no Thai, no Westerner, no person, but that ultimately,
there are only these four elements -- that's all! We assume
that there is a person or a "being" but, in
reality, there isn't anything of the sort.

Whether taken separately as earth, water, fire and wind,
or taken together labelling what they form a "human
being," they're all impermanent, subject to suffering
and not-self. They are all unstable, uncertain and in a state
of constant change -- not stable for a single moment!

Our mind, too, is always changing. It isn't a self or
substance. It isn't really "us," not really
"them," although it may think so. Maybe it will
think about killing itself. Maybe it will think of happiness
or of suffering -- all sorts of things! It's unstable. If we
don't have wisdom and we believe this mind of ours, it'll lie
to us continually. And we alternately suffer and be happy.

This mind is an uncertain thing. This body is uncertain.
Together they are impermanent. Together they are a source of
suffering. Together they are devoid of self. These, the
Buddha pointed out, are neither a being, nor a person, nor a
self, nor a soul, nor us, nor they. They are merely elements:
earth, water, fire and wind. Elements only!

When the mind sees this, it will rid itself of attachment
which holds that "I" am beautiful, "I" am
good, "I" am evil, "I" am suffering,
"I" have, "I" this or "I" that.
You will experience a state of unity, for you'll have seen
that all of mankind is basically the same. There is no
"I." There are only elements.

When you contemplate and see impermanence, suffering and
not-self, there will no longer be clinging to a self, a
being, I or he or she. The mind which sees this will give
rise to Nibbida, world-weariness and dispassion. It will see
all things as only impermanent, suffering and not-self.

The mind then stops. The mind is Dhamma. Greed,
hatred and delusion will then diminish and recede little by
little until finally there is only mind -- just the pure
mind. This is called "practicing meditation."

Thus, I ask you to receive this gift of Dhamma which I
offer you to study and contemplate in your daily lives.
Please accept this Dhamma Teaching from Wat Pah Pong and Wat
Pah Nanachat as an inheritance handed down to you. All of the
monks here, including your son, and all the Teachers, make
you an offering of this Dhamma to take back to France with
you. It will show you the way to peace of mind, it will
render your mind calm and unconfused. Your body may be in
turmoil, but your mind will not. Those in the world may be
confused, but you will not. Even though there is confusion in
your country, you will not be confused because the mind will
have seen, the mind is Dhamma. This is the right path,
the proper way.